The Parish of St. Nicholas of Tolentine was founded by the Augustinians on April 22, 1906.
Records show that 127 people attended the first Mass which was said in a little garage building on North Street near Jerome Avenue. Property on the southeast corner of Andrews Avenue and Fordham Road was purchased, and construction began soon thereafter on a two-story combination building for the church and school, and a rectory. The cornerstone was laid on July 15, 1906, by Monsignor J. F. Mooney, V.G., and on September 15, 1907, the church was dedicated by Archbishop Farley, with a Pontifical Mass sung by the Rt. Rev. W. A. Jones, O.S.A., of Puerto Rico. In the early years, the Augustinian Fathers attended to the Catholic Orphan Asylums (for both males and females) on Sedgwick Avenue and Kingsbridge Road. The school was administered by the Sisters of Charity.

By the 1920s, the University Heights area (named for the presence at that time of New York University) had developed into an attractive, middle-class neighborhood of mainly Irish residents who had left the poorer sections of the South Bronx and Manhattan. A parochial high school was established in 1927, and plans were made for a larger church that would be built on adjacent property to the east, on the southwest corner of University Avenue and Fordham Road.

Construction on the present church began in the summer of 1927, and on September 11 of that same year the cornerstone was laid by the Rt. Rev. John J. Dunn, Auxiliary Bishop of New York. As designed by Delaney, O'Connor & Schultz, the new Gothic-style edifice would be built of rock-faced ashlar trimmed in limestone, and would cost about $1,000,000 when completed. The church was oriented with its liturgical West end actually facing east, fronting University Avenue, and the main portals were to be flanked by twin towers 150 feet in height.

The lower church would provide seating for 1,200 and the upper church, with a nave measuring 200 feet long and 64 feet wide, would have a seating capacity of 1,500. On April 29, 1928, the completed lower church was blessed by Cardinal Hayes. This basement space served as the main church for many years, due to financial restraints brought on in part by the Great Depression and World War II. The upper church was completed in the 1950s and the church was consecrated in 1957.

On March 5, 2010, a fire of suspicious origin broke out in a former confessional-turned-storage room near the main entrance, causing great damage to the narthex and filling the church with smoke. The flames shot up to the choir gallery directly above the narthex, and the organ console and pipes suffered smoke and water damage.

Over the years, the demographics of the University Heights area have changed from being predominantly Irish and is now home to mainly Hispanic and Vietnamese immigrants. St. Nicholas of Tolentine, popularly known as "The Cathedral of the Bronx," has also evolved to meet the needs of its parishioners and offers services in English, Spanish and Vietnamese.

The two-alarm fire on March 5, 2012, narrowly spared the 1951 Kilgen organ, but the resulting damage by smoke, water and workers necessitated that the organ be cleaned and repaired. This work was contracted to John Klauder, organ curator, who emptied and cleaned both chambers, replaced soot-covered leather, and repaired or replaced damaged pipes. The 1951 console barely escaped the flames from below but was also damaged. Klauder cleaned and refinished the console, upgraded the combination action, and enlarged the specification in consultation with Daniel Kirk-Foster, Director of Music. Following are the specifications of the rebuilt console.

The organ in the Upper Church was built in 1951 by the Kilgen Organ Company, successor firm to Geo. Kilgen & Son, of St. Louis. Charles Courboin, who was organist at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan from 1943-1973, designed the specifications. The fully enclosed organ is installed behind oak grills in chambers on opposite sides of the rear gallery. Kilgen provided a three-manual stop-key console that was centered at the front edge of the gallery.

Great Organ (Manual II) – 61 notes, enclosed with Choir
(7" pressure)

16

Violone

73

4

Flute Harmonique

73

8

Diapason

73

Rausch Quinte II ranks

122

8

Hohl Flute

73

Fourniture III ranks

183

8

Gemshorn

73

8

Trumpet (12" w.p.)

73

4

Octave

73

Chimes

25 tubes

Swell Organ (Manual III) – 61 notes, enclosed
(7½" pressure)

16

Flute Conique

73

2

Octavin

61

8

Geigen Diapason

73

Scharf IV ranks

244

8

Rohr Floete

73

16

Waldhorn

73

8

Viole d'Gamba

73

8

Trompette

73

8

Voix Celeste

73

8

Oboe

73

4

Principal

73

4

Clarion

73

4

Flute Harmonique

73

Tremolo

Choir Organ (Manual I) – 61 notes, enclosed
(6' pressure)

8

Viola Pomposa

73

4

Spitz Flute

73

8

Concert Flute

73

8

Clarinet

73

8

Cor d'nuit

73

Tremolo

8

Unda maris [TC]

61

Pedal Organ – 32 notes

32

Sub Bourdon [1-12 resultant]

—

8

Bass Flute [from 16' Bdn.]

—

16

Contra Bass

32

8

Cello [Violone]

GT

16

Bourdon [unit]

44

8

Rohr Floete

SW

16

Violone

GT

4

Super Octave [from 8' Oct.]

—

16

Flute Conique

SW

16

Bombarde

32

8

Octave [unit]

44

16

Waldhorn

SW

Couplers

Great to Pedal 8'

Swell to Choir 16', 8', 4'

Swell to Pedal 8', 4'

Great to Great 4'

Choir to Pedal 8'

Swell to Swell 16', 4'

Swell to Great 16', 8', 4'

Choir to Choir 16', 4'

Choir to Great 16', 8', 4'

Adjustable Combinations

Swell Organ

Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb)

Great Organ

Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb)

Choir Organ

Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb)

Pedal Organ

Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb & toe)

Full Organ

Pistons 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb & toe)

Accessories

Balanced Expression Pedal – Great & Choir

Great to Pedal Reversible (toe)

Balanced Expression Pedal – Swell

Full Organ (thumb & toe)

Crescendo Pedal

Organ installed in the Lower Church:

George Jardine & Son
New York City (1878)
Mechanical action
2 manuals, 10 stops, 10 ranks

In 1927, a two-manual-and-pedal organ was installed in the Lower Church. Originally built in 1878 by George Jardine & Son for St. James Episcopal Church in Goshen, N.Y., the organ was moved and rebuilt for use in the Lower Church by William F. Smith. The following specifications were recorded (Jan. 12, 1940) by Louis F. Mohr & Co., an organ service concern in the area. Mohr noted that the organ had 17 front pipes in gold.

This organ was rebuilt again in 1978 by William E. Baker. In 1988, the organ was sold through the Organ Clearing House and moved to Trinity Episcopal Church, Shelburne, Vt. In 2008 and 2009, the organ was up for auction on eBay.com.

Great Organ (Manual I) – 58 notes

8

Open Diapason

58

8

Melodia

58

8

Gamba

58

2

Flageolet

58

Swell Organ (Manual II) – 58 notes, enclosed

8

Diapason Bass

17

4

Clarionet Flute

58

8

Clarionet Flute [TF]

41

4

Violana

58

8

Dulciana [TF]

41

Tremulant

Pedal Organ– 27 notes

16

Bourdon

27

Couplers and Accessories

Swell to Great [push buttons below Swell]

Balanced Swell Pedal

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

Bellows Signal

Sources:
"A Success Story in Multiculturalism," Strangers and Aliens No Longer: The Hispanic Presence. Washington, DC, The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, 2004. http://www.jknirp.com/aliens.htm
"Bishop Lays Stone for Bronx Church," The New York Times (Sep. 12, 1927).The Catholic Church in the United States of America: Undertaken to Celebrate the Golden Jubilee of His Holiness, Pope Pius X, Vol. III. New York: The Catholic Editing Company, 1914.
Hermalyn, Gary and Robert Kornfeld. Landmarks of The Bronx. Bronx, NY: Bronx Historical Society, 1989.
Kirk-Foster, Daniel. Specifications of Kilgen Organ as rebuilt by John Klauder (2012).
Mohr, Louis F. & Co. Specifications (Jan. 12, 1940) of J.H. & C. S. Odell organ (1878). Courtesy Larry Trupiano.
"New Church Blessed by Cardinal Hayes," The New York Times (Apr. 30, 1928).
Nieves, Evelyn. "Archdiocese Will Close a Bronx High School," The New York Times (May 17, 1991).
Paul Opel's Organ Home Page web site: http://www.sover.net/~popel/agomain.html. Specifications of George Jardine & Son Organ (1878).
Shelley, Thomas J. The Bicentennial History of the Archdiocese of New York 1808-2008. Strasbourg: Éditions du Signe, 2007.
St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church web site: http://www.tolentinebronx.org/